“Okay so we can understand these actors aren’t able to tell us much about their new film, however, to turn this interview into such a farce is beyond a joke. I personally find it’s hysteria quite hard to watch.”

I wonder if ‘Our Ford’ (see Huxley’s Brave New World) realises the position of power he’s in. The vulnerable and the young are very impressionable and very open to suggestion, so to see their ‘hero’ drinking whiskey, exhibiting hysteria can never be a good thing. Whether we like it or not, alcohol, is one of the biggest problems humanity faces at this time.

It’s not until people such as Ford and Gosling take proper responsibility and show the world the damage of drink (it’s very doubtful they actually drink themselves, you’ll notice in the clip it’s pretence) will we free ourselves of this scourge. You might say: “Oh come on, there’s nothing wrong with a drink now and again” and I would agree. Not everyone has a problem with drink, I’m talking about the young, and the vulnerable.

When we think of it, many industries take advantage of our weaknesses; they actively exploit our weaknesses and make millions, if not billions, at our expense. Take chocolate as further example, I find the stuff they put in this product horribly addictive, and I know that if I eat too much of it, I’ll get fat. Once the weight is on I then find the vigorous exercise, I believe to be lengthening my life, a gruelling experience. It would seem, if self-discipline isn’t taught by those raising us, life will prove to be one uncomfortable challenge after another.

“Coming back to the clip, we must ask: why did the people in this interview lapse into hysteria. There must be some level of fear, and indeed some level of sadness that hysteria is combating; avoidance and distraction from something else perhaps.”

This leads me on to the actual film Blade Runner, not the new one, but the original. In this work (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep) Philip K. Dick is exploring (as Ford rightfully points out) the human spirit. He’s asking: is it possible for a ‘replicant’ to be equal or superior to a human? He’s asking: do any of us know if we’re replicants or not? He’s also pointing out the level of fear involved with the idea of AI’s. In his book there are Blade Runners, whose job it is to seek out ‘wayward’ replicants, and ‘retire’ them. The fact they have an inbuilt cut off point, or life span, does make the whole Blade Runner thing a bit obsolete, however, take that out, and we have no book or subsequent film.

As touched on by Philip K. Dick, in order for any of us to feel any kind of identity, we must have memories. From these memories we form beliefs, and it’s these beliefs, that make us what we are. In addition to beliefs, we must be taught the whys and wherefores of life: The dangers in life, the necessities of self-discipline, the importance of empathy etc, etc, etc. Without these lessons we become vulnerable and potentially self-destructive, when we think of it, even a self-aware AI, will need identity and understandings of the dangers of excess. If, for example, a robot of the future were given some kind of pleasure reward, when charging itself sitting in the sun, without the addition of the necessary programming of self-discipline, would it ever get up and do anything?

“In the original Blade Runner film we’re led to believe that Dr Eldon Tyrell’s replicants are “more human than human.” I see no reason why we shouldn’t look to be this ourselves.”

Pris

In order to gain this we must be prepared to examine the aspects of human nature that we’d rather not. Why do Ford and Gosling feel the need to overpower their interviewer Alison Hammond in such a way? Do they fear her? Do they need to belittle her to seem powerful? Perhaps, and on a more positive note, they’re simply empathising with her fear and trying to help alleviate it.

In terms of exploitation, do Ford and Gosling just want us to watch their film, without telling us anything meaningful about it? Is it the case that the new film simply has nothing to add to the old one? In which case, exploitation of the dead, goes on. Just as poor parenting and the drinks industry are allowed to continue deadening the human spirit.